Candlestick Park officially is closed

Posted by Mike Florio on January 12, 2014, 4:59 AM EST

AP

When Saints receiver Marques Colston inexplicably opted after catching a pass at the sideline with roughly 10 seconds left not to step out of bounds and give New Orleans at least one more play from inside the Seattle 40 but to attempt a lateral that was anything but a lateral, the long-time home of the 49ers officially became closed.

Candlestick Park, which opened in 1960, could have hosted the NFC title game if the fifth-seeded 49ers and sixth-seeded Saints had won in the divisional round. Instead, a San Francisco win will mean a return to Seattle, where the 49ers have lost two straight games in ugly fashion.

As it stands, the venue shut down with a 34-24 win over the Falcons on December 23, featuring a furious comeback attempt by the Falcons, a Buckner-esque misplay of an onside kick by linebacker NaVorro Bowman, and then a memorable interception by Bowman deep in 49ers territory that was returned for a game-clinching touchdown.

When I graduated high school, I spent the following three years after that and went and saw a game at every NFL and MLB stadium in the country (and the two in Canada). Although Candlestick wasn’t one of the best looking stadiums, it was an awesome experience and I enjoyed it. So much history inside the stadium and just to say “I saw a game there” is worth it. It’s a shame it has to go, but it’s time was due. I can’t wait to see the new stadium next season as the renderings look awesome.